The present invention relates to a sliding contact for a toy train, for collecting current from a two-rail track system of a toy railroad.
A sliding contact of the above-mentioned general type is known in the art. A known sliding contact includes a holding plate which mounts two contact pins on a toy train so that each contact pin is located above a respective one of the rails of a two-rail track system. The current collection from the rails in toy trains is generally performed through the wheels which either completely consist of electrically conductive material or at least the wheel rim consists of such a material. The current is then collected from the wheels via sliding contacts and supplied to the drive of the toy train. In order to make possible running of the toy train over switch points, at least two pairs of wheels are necessary for current collection. Since the metal contact of the wheels on the rails is provided, no rolling friction takes place which leads to the slippage of the wheels on the rail even in condition of small loads. In light-weight toy trains including synthetic plastic components, it is therefore customary to make the wheels of synthetic plastic material and to provide the latter with a rubber ring which increases the rolling friction. However, such wheels cannot be utilized for collecting the current. For this reason, the current collection in the known toy trains is carried out via contact pins which are mounted on the toy train by means of a holding plate and directly slide over the rails. Since the contact pins are rigidly connected with the toy train, they move to a slight degree out of the rail rack when the train runs over track bends, track junctions, and switch points.